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New book: The Conscientious Gardener

12 July 2011

The Conscientious Gardener by Sara Hayden Reichard is described by its publisher, University of California Press:

'In his influential A Sand County Almanac, published at the forefront of the environmental movement in 1949, Aldo Leopold described a new ecological ethic to guide our stewardship of the planet. In this inspiring book, Sarah Hayden Reichard tells how we can bring Leopold’s far-reaching vision to our gardens to make them more sustainable, lively, and healthy places. Today, gardening practices too often damage the environment; we deplete resources in our own soil while mining for soil amendments in far away places, or use water and pesticides in ways that can pollute lakes and rivers. Drawing from cutting edge research on urban horticulture, Reichard explores the many benefits of sustainable gardening and gives straightforward, practical advice on topics such as pest control, water conservation, living with native animals, mulching, and invasive species.The book includes a scorecard that allows readers to quickly evaluate the sustainability of their current practices, as well as an extensive list of garden plants that are invasive, what they do, and where they should be avoided.'

The publisher says that 'Sara Hayden Reichard is Professor of Conservation Biology in the College of the Environment and Adjunct Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington. She has advised the U.S. Governmnet and other instituions on conservation issues. The author of numerous scientific articles, she is the co-editor of Invasive Species in the Pacific Northwest.'

Peter Raven, the President Missouri Botanical Garden, writes in the Forward of The Conscientious Gardener :

'More than two-thirds of the 310 million people who live in the United States actively garden or have an interest in gardening. American's constitue about 4.5 percent of the world population but consume nearly a quater of the world's resources. The way in which we live, therefore, has a major effect on the global ecosystem, and our gardening has direct and important effects on our common environment, both locally and farther afield.

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You can order this book online from The BGCI Amazon Shop which will also benefit BGCI. The ISBN number is 978-0-520-26740-4